No surprises! Naidu Vice-President elect
BJP-led coalition brushes aside all challenge from joint Opposition candidate
NDA nominee M. Venkaiah Naidu was on Saturday elected as India's next Vice-President, receiving an overwhelming two-third votes against joint Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
The 68-year-old BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh got 516 votes out of the total 771 votes cast while Gandhi could manage only 244 votes. Of the total 771 votes polled, 11 were found to be invalid. Although 785 MPs were eligible to vote in the election, 14 MPs could not cast their franchise.
From pasting party posters to an epitome of political and ideological loyalty who rose to become one of BJP’s most visible leaders and now India’s vice president-elect, Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu has come a long way. Born to a humble agricultural family in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, the 68-year-old has served as BJP president, minister in various portfolios and a long-time Rajya Sabha member.
This remarkable career in politics has been more than four decades in the making. It began in the 1970s when BJP’s precursor Jana Sangh was a marginal player with little clout in the south and a young party worker kept himself busy putting up posters of stalwarts such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani. Naidu has come a long way since those days of political obscurity.
“Coming from an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in Indian polity,” India's Vice-President-elect told reporters soon after being elected. “I am humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support. I will seek to utilise the vicepresidential institution to strengthen the hands of the President and secondly uphold the dignity of the Upper House,” Naidu added.
Naidu is known for his oratory. A two-term member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha three times from Karnataka. He represented Rajasthan in the Upper House of Parliament before he was nominated to the Vice-President’s post by the NDA. Once an Advani protege, Naidu vigorously backed Modi for the Prime Minister’s post before the 2014 elections.
Naidu will be the 13th person to hold the second-highest constitutional post. By virtue of being the Vice-President, Naidu will also preside over the Rajya Sabha as its Chairman.
With Saturday’s election, those holding the three top positions in the country — the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister — come from the BJP.
COMING FROM an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in polity
— Venkaiah Naidu